University of Oregon officials have no lack of challenges to keep
them busy these days - from inadequate state funding to skyrocketing
tuition to siting a new basketball arena.

Given that packed agenda, they might have been tempted to downplay
concerns about the UO men's basketball team's upcoming game
against the University of Illinois, which uses the Chief Illiniwek mascot that offends many American Indians. To their credit, they
didn't.

While UO officials declined to cancel an existing contract with
Illinois that calls for Saturday's game in Illinois and a return
game in Portland next December, they agreed to put in place a new policy
on the scheduling of future games with schools that have offensive
mascots.

It's a practical, significant response - one that enables the
UO to meet existing contractual obligations, while establishing a
long-term policy that recognizes that stereotypical and inaccurate
representations have no place in modern university environments.

As Register-Guard reporter Jeff Wright noted in a Wednesday story,
critics first voiced concerns about the Illinois games last spring. They
cited a resolution, signed two years ago by 250 students and faculty,
urging the UO to not allow its athletics teams to play nonconference
foes with American Indian mascots that are not sanctioned by tribes.

At the time UO officials entered into the contract, it appeared
that Illinois trustees, who had been petitioned for years by American
Indian groups, were finally about to get rid of Illiniwek. However, the
board eventually yielded to strong alumni support for the chief.

Some UO students and faculty members have called for cancellation
of Saturday's game, saying such a move would send a powerful
message. That's probably true, but it also would entail breaching a
contract, and canceling a game that many fans plan to attend.

Of far greater importance - and longer-term consequence - is the
UO's decision to craft a new policy that will deal with similar
situations in the future. Such a policy should not only restrict the use
of offensive mascots by visiting teams, but it should also bar the UO
from scheduling away games with schools that use American Indian or
other insulting mascots.

Meanwhile, it's baffling that the University of Illinois has
taken so long to recognize the need to retire Illiniwek. While team
nicknames and mascots often have strong sentimental support, most
colleges already have discarded offensive mascots and nicknames. They
include Stanford University, which replaced "Indians" with the
"Cardinal" in 1972. In 1997, Miami University of Ohio changed
from "Redskins" to "Redhawks." Hundreds of high
schools have made similar changes.

Yet Illinois stubbornly refuses to give up the Illiniwek stereotype
and symbol, arguing that the chief - often a white student who stands
with his arms folded as a sign of "respect" - is a dignified
image that honors the American Indians who originally inhabited
Illinois.

That self-serving justification ignores the fact that many American
Indians regard this symbol as a distorted cliche. The University of
Illinois should find another symbol, one that better represents American
Indians and the ideals of the university - and one that doesn't
distract its fellow institutions from the urgent business of the day.

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